Drawing The Line Between Free Labor & Marketing With Minaa B

This week, I talk to Minaa B. She’s a licensed social worker, creative expressive coach, and author of the book Rivers Are Coming, a collection of essays and poems about healing from emotional trauma. You might know her for her Instagram account or her newsletter, but she’s just an incredible resource for therapy and mental health, and she’s helping to redefine what it means to use your degree in social work today. We talked a lot about what it’s like to put herself out there on Instagram as a credentialed expert vs. an influencer, and where she draws the line between free labor and marketing—especially with people sliding into her DMs to essentially get free therapy.

And while I can’t say anyone’s trying to get free therapy from me, I do know what it’s like to have someone try to squeeze extra unpaid work out of me (not fun), and what it’s like to set boundaries with those people (not fun but worth it). So, even if you’re not in the mental health field, Minaa has so much freelance wisdom to share. Some other topics we talked about:

• How to maintain connections with people you’ve worked with, since they might help you get another opportunity down the line

• What social media burn out feels like, and how to combat it

• Why financial health is important for your mental health

Note to self: Think of freelancing as an exercise in self-worth—and negotiate accordingly.

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